A contentious crowd gathered Monday night for a special public meeting in Schuylkill County over a possible strip mining operation.
The controversy centers around Sharp Mountain in Schuylkill County.
EOJ,Incorporated is almost finished with a coal strip mining operation near Pottsville. Now the company wants to keep mining into Palo Alto.
Residents such as the Jeffersons loathe the idea. "We are very upset. We don't want the dirt or the water running off the mountain. We feel it will devalue our homes," said Rosie Jefferson.
Hundreds gathered at the Citizens Fire Company to voice their concerns to the man at the center of the strip mining project.
"This is the 21st century all they are talking about is green not black," said Robert Piacini of Palo Alto.
"There's going to be a lot of noise and last but not least, the environmental impact is going to be tremendous," said John Gall of Palo Alto.
The closest house to the proposed project would be about 1,000 feet away.
The owner of EOJ, Incorporated, Joseph Zaprazny, proposed mining a little bit at a time and to come back to the borough residents to see if they are satisfied.
"We would like to strip a certain amount and make sure they are happy with what we are doing," Zaprazny said.
Outside the meeting there was one supporter of the project.
"It's his ground. I don't want someone telling me what I can't do on my ground. I think he's a stand-up guy. Any problems that would be caused by water I think he would stand behind," said Scott Thomas of Palo Alto.
The decision on whether to allow the strip mining expansion will be up to the Schuylkill County Zoning Commission and the state department of environmental protection.
The controversy centers around Sharp Mountain in Schuylkill County.
EOJ,Incorporated is almost finished with a coal strip mining operation near Pottsville. Now the company wants to keep mining into Palo Alto.
Residents such as the Jeffersons loathe the idea. "We are very upset. We don't want the dirt or the water running off the mountain. We feel it will devalue our homes," said Rosie Jefferson.
Hundreds gathered at the Citizens Fire Company to voice their concerns to the man at the center of the strip mining project.
"This is the 21st century all they are talking about is green not black," said Robert Piacini of Palo Alto.
"There's going to be a lot of noise and last but not least, the environmental impact is going to be tremendous," said John Gall of Palo Alto.
The closest house to the proposed project would be about 1,000 feet away.
The owner of EOJ, Incorporated, Joseph Zaprazny, proposed mining a little bit at a time and to come back to the borough residents to see if they are satisfied.
"We would like to strip a certain amount and make sure they are happy with what we are doing," Zaprazny said.
Outside the meeting there was one supporter of the project.
"It's his ground. I don't want someone telling me what I can't do on my ground. I think he's a stand-up guy. Any problems that would be caused by water I think he would stand behind," said Scott Thomas of Palo Alto.
The decision on whether to allow the strip mining expansion will be up to the Schuylkill County Zoning Commission and the state department of environmental protection.
